As Private Treaty sales of artworks continue to grow exponentially and are fast becoming the leading method of sale of Indigenous art in Australia (if not already), now seems as good a time as any to examine why this is happening and how you can make the most of the trend.

The Australian art market has nowhere near the depth and breadth that can be seen overseas. In my opinion this is the fundamental reason that Private Sale – where prices are fixed and it’s up to the agent to find the right buyer – has become the most effective means to sell significant Australian Indigenous Art (and the majority of Australian Contemporary Art for that matter) within Australia.

How does the secondary market really benefit artists and what more can be done?

Confidence is the main driving force in any market.

When a masterful and large scale work by Warlimpirrnga sold at Sotheby’s in London last year for 167,000 GBP (more than doubling its lower estimate) it made international headlines. It was thrilling to see an artist, still living and working in Kiwirrkura, achieve such an incredible price for his work at auction - and in front of an international audience no less. It demonstrated a renewed level of confidence in the Australian Indigenous art market.

But there was also an immediate and short-sighted backlash following the sale, arguing that the artist and his family saw no direct benefit from this international result.

Rover Thomas, Djugamerri and Bolgumerri 1991 from the Laverty Collection, sold for $317,200 IBP at D+H, April 2017

One of my most popular posts last year was a list of the Top 10 Most Collectable Indigenous Artists (if you missed it you can check it outhere).

With the noticeable shift in market interest to Contemporary artists over the last 6-12 months, I thought a perfect follow up for that original article would be to focus on the Top 10 Most Collectable Contemporary Indigenous Artists on the Australian market right now.

One of my favourite things about my line of work is when a client invites me into their home to see a painting or collection and I get to enter a whole new world.

I love to see how, where and why they decided to hang a painting, or place a sculpture, so that it fits perfectly into their living space.

This very personal level of interaction was not generally something that I was able to offer while working in the fast-paced world of auctions – but it is a service that I relish being able to offer my clients now that I work for myself.

Visiting these private spaces is also a great reminder that each time an artwork is sold from a gallery, dealer or auction house, it is merely the beginning or a continuation of its story – never the end.

If you are ever curious to see how art collectors live with the pieces they bring home, this post is for you.

Have you ever wondered why the art market isn’t a more widely-considered asset class with a greater liquidity? In this post I explore the mechanisms which help drive (and thwart) the market here in Australia, from a perspective that you may have not yet considered...

As 2016 comes to an emphatic end, no one can be in any doubt that 2017 is going to be a very interesting and exciting year. All eyes will be on global market movements over the next 12 months but it's safe to say that astute investing in objects of beauty, rarity and value will continue to be an enriching and rewarding experience.

Here are my top 5 posts that will help build your art collection in 2017...

If I could sum up the 2016 Australian art market in a concise fashion it would be: the high-end excelled and the mid-low range languished.

In general, 2016 has seen marked positive shift for Indigenous and non-Indigenous art on the secondary market, highlighted by several extraordinary results at Sotheby's in London for Indigenous art and backed up with several record barriers being moved by Sotheby's Australia earlier this month. Both auctions highlighted the fact that important works with impeccable provenance and exhibition history and that haven't been overly exposed to the market, will garner significant attention by astute collectors...

Collection of Tiwi ironwood carvings from the Estate of Marianne Baillieu

Charles Nodrum and I are very pleased to announce that the collection of Tiwi ironwood carvings from the Estate of Marianne Baillieu has been donated to the Shepparton Art Museum through a major Cultural Bequest...

When a painting titled Five Stories by Papunya artist, Michael Nelson Jagamarra came up for auction recently at Sotheby’s in London, it was surprising to see it given pre-sale estimates of £150,000-200,000.

A quick glance through Jagamara’s AASD entry will show that the highest price previously achieved for his work on the secondary market was AU$17,080 – which was for a painting sold at Mossgreen in 2012 and the next two highest results were way back in 2004.

In the end the Sotheby’s estimates actually looked somewhat conservative and many in the industry were scratching their heads when the painting was eventually knocked down for over double its high estimate to achieve £401,000 IBP (AU$687,875) - an auction record for any living Australian Indigenous artist.

How did this astronomical result come about? What drove the buyers to bid so feverishly for the painting at auction?

I was recently in London for the second annual auction of Aboriginal Art at Sotheby’s, curated by Tim Klingender. I was bidding on behalf of several clients and it was encouraging to see the market at work from an international perspective. Although the results were uneven, there were several standout results which only the international market and the international brand could deliver.

An Important Private Collection of Shields, nineteenth century and earlier

The fastest growing market sector in recent years is undoubtedly Private Sales. We only have to look at recent moves by Christies and Sotheby’s to further expand their private sale showrooms internationally as well as Sotheby’s acquisition earlier this year of art advisory firm Art Agency, Partners to see that the big guys are investing heavily in this area...

After battle-testing my 3-tiered platform for almost 12 months it’s time to take stock of what has worked and what can be improved so that I can continue providing you with the best possible service...

This quarter’s Art Market Insider Guide will focus solely on the current state of the Australian Indigenous Art Market. As well as being my main area of expertise, it’s a field that has been severely affected by global markets as well as ill-timed (and ill-considered) government policies over the last decade. However, several shifts I have observed in recent years indicate a clear and positive renewed interest for Australian Indigenous Art. I will examine these shifts and provide reasons for my optimism in this post.

For the last 20 years the market for Australian Indigenous artefacts has shown steady growth with objects of beauty, rarity and a solid provenance in strong demand among a focused group of collectors and institutions.

The market has broadened over the past several years with artefacts now being viewed as artworks in their own right. Taking the form of a shield, club, boomerang or any other tool developed over generations to cope with the harsh Australian environment, these objects, when placed in a gallery or private collection, easily hold their own form alongside paintings and other sculpture...

One of the first questions I get asked by people when they find out I sell art for a living is:

“How did you get into that?”

And for me it’s always the same, simple answer:

“Barks.”

One of the most affordable mediums in the Indigenous art market today is also one of the most important in terms of their cultural and historical significance. For this reason I believe they are still largely under-valued and under-appreciated. But I also believe that the recognition of the importance of bark paintings is gaining strength at a collector level. I will explain why in this post...